Photographer Richard Nagler introduces a handsome new book about art lovers looking at art; Laura Deutsch urges writers to rely on their senses; and Laurel Braitman delves into the world of animal behavior (and misbehavior) in this month’s new releases by Bay Area authors. Also in June: Anneli Rufus on overcoming chronic low self-esteem, and Novella Carpenter’s memoir about finding her missing father.

“Looking at Art, the Art of Looking” by Richard Nagler (Heyday, $25, 116 pages) Watching art lovers in museums can be as rewarding as studying the art itself. In his beautiful new book, “Looking at Art, the Art of Looking,” Berkeley photographer Richard Nagler highlights the intersections between people-watching and art appreciation. Nagler has traveled widely, and the book includes images from many of the world’s great institutions. His photographs offer a fascinating glimpse into his point of view and speak volumes about how we experience art. In one image, a patron’s pose echoes that of Rodin’s sculpture “Meditation”; in another, a woman’s face appears a kind of mirror image of the “Mona Lisa.” Some are whimsical: a man’s flowered shirt seems to spill out of Van Gogh’s “Irises,” while a curious viewer, reaching out, appears poised to topple Robert Therrien’s “No Title (Blue Plastic Plates).” Others are remarkable for their stillness: Nagler captures art lovers in deep communion with the works they admire. Meet Nagler and Heyday founder Malcolm Margolin, who wrote the foreword, at the book launch: 7:30 p.m. June 20 at Mrs. Dalloway’s in Berkeley.

“Writing From the Senses: 59 Exercises to Ignite Creativity and Revitalize Your Writing” by Laura Deutsch (Shambhala, $14.95, 256 pages) Good writing often makes us feel as if we could see, hear or taste the scene — the colors of the sea, the sound of rush-hour traffic, the sweet scent of caramelized onions. Mill Valley author and educator Laura Deutsch thinks that sensory signals can add dimension and richness to our writing; in this new guide, she offers her insights and a series of guided exercises for employing sense memories as a way of breaking through writer’s block and enhancing works in progress. Deutsch, who teaches writing workshops throughout the Bay Area, will discuss the book at 7:30 p.m. June 12 at Books Inc., 16th and Market in San Francisco.

“Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots, and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves” by Laurel Braitman (Simon and Schuster, $28, 400 pages) For Sausalito-based author Laurel Braitman, it began with a beloved pet — Oliver, a Bernese mountain dog who snapped at imaginary flies, experienced severe separation anxiety and jumped out the window of her fourth-floor apartment. Braitman, a science historian and senior TED fellow, began to suspect that animals, like humans, could suffer from mental illness. In “Animal Madness,” she talks to pet owners, veterinarians, neuroscientists and animal behaviorists, uncovering the anxieties, obsessions and suicidal impulses that afflict creatures from scorpions to whales. As she traveled to zoos, research facilities, marine mammal centers and Thai logging camps, Braitman met lonely elephants, bereft parrots, isolated gorillas and one very agitated bonobo. The causes vary, and so do the remedies.

“Unworthy: How to Stop Hating Yourself” by Anneli Rufus (Tarcher/Penguin, $25.95, 288 pages) In a market overflowing with self-help books, Rufus has written one that stands out in the crowd. The longtime Berkeley journalist and author (“Stuck”) speaks directly to members of the “self-loathing” club, exploring the ways people get trapped in a self-perpetuating, soul-crushing cycle of hating themselves, outlining the so-called “personality flaws” that undermine happiness and offering practical strategies for building self-esteem. The passages describing the roots of her own self-loathing are especially poignant, and Rufus acknowledges that healing takes time. But this is a hopeful, helpful book for anyone who has struggled to accept themselves.

“Gone Feral: Tracking My Dad Through the Wild” by Novella Carpenter (Penguin, $26.95, 213 pages) Oakland author Novella Carpenter clearly remembers the day her dad went missing — it was Oct. 17, 2009, when he vanished from his Idaho town. In this engaging memoir, Carpenter realizes that George — a free-spirited 73-year-old homesteader — had been missing in action for most of her life. Carpenter writes with humor and honesty about searching for him — and what the experience taught her about being a daughter and a mother. She will read from the book at 7:30 p.m. June 13 at Pegasus Downtown in Berkeley; noon June 14 at Oakland Library, Temescal Branch; and 6:30 p.m. June 16 at Omnivore Books in San Francisco.

"I fully support the principles behind Senate Bill 1: to defeat efforts by the president and Congress to undermine vital federal protections that protect clean air, clean water and endangered species," Newsom said in a written statement.